AW159 Wildcat

In 2002 two projects were launched to find replacements for the British Army and Royal Navy's Lynx aircraft which were called the Surface Combatant Maritime Rotorcraft (SCMR) and Battlefield Light Utility Helicopter (BLUH) programmes. These two came under the name 'Future Lynx' looking at a derivative of the 'Super Lynx 300' helicopter. On 22nd June 2006 the Ministry Of Defence awarded AgustaWestland a £1 billion contract for 70 'Future Lynx' helicopters.

The programme proposed providing the British Army with 40 and Royal Navy with 30 aircraft with an option for a further 10, split equally.In December 2008 however, the MoD announced that the order would be reduced to 62 airframes.It was in April 2009 the 'Future Lynx' was renamed the AW159Lynx Wildcat and in November that year the first example made it's maiden flight.

The Wildcat sees a massive jump in Avionics technology from the Lynx.The AW159 is supported by Health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS) which monitors the helicopter's components and can even record the data to be used for maintenance and to pin point problems quickly and accurately. The aircraft also comes with a Forward Looking Infra-Red system, Electronic Support Measures system, Infrared Suppression System and 360˚ AESA Surveillance radar. The AW159 eases the workload on the crew in the battlefield with it's Integrated surface Automatic Identification System (AIS) along with a Tactical Data Link and Digital Map so a number of units are all seeing up to date information immediatly. The Multi-Function Display also contains a comprehensive weapon management system which links up to the Wildcat's Head-up display.The Wildcat can also use a ASW Active Dipping Sonar for Maritime taskings.

The Wildcat will enter service with the British Army in 2014 and Royal Navy in 2015. To help impliment the aircraft into service the British Army has formed the Wildcat Fielding Team and the Navy 700(W) NAS both at RNAS Yeovilton.700 Naval Air Squadron is an Operational Evaluation Unit (OEU) to support Intense flying trials. The 'W' Suffix after the 700 stands for the Wildcat.